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David S Goyer: 'Black Ops II was more like writing a TV show than a movie'

This article was taken from the December 2012 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops. "Black Ops II was more like writing a TV show than a movie," says Goyer, 46. "The story is long, and the game has a branching narrative." Branching narrative is new in developer Treyarch's Black Ops II: the player's choices mean different characters will live or die in different games.

Goyer and Treyarch's Dave Anthony wanted to add depth, by making

Black Ops II's 2025 setting as realistic as the future can be. "I suggested bringing people such as [moral philosopher] Peter Singer on board," says Goyer. "His job is to predict geopolitics ten or 15 years out, and advise the CIA and the Pentagon where threats will come from."

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Are credible scenarios and characters becoming a must for the modern first-person shooter? Goyer says: "As games become more sophisticated, I think the narrative expectations will also get higher."